Unity
by Sorafi Lynn Mioto
Summary: When Tori's search for her unknown father brings her into contact with a man clad in green, the unexpected happens. A man from the desert puts the castle under his command, and the princess is imprisoned within the walls. Will Link and Tori be able to free Hyrule from the clutches of evil, or will an unexpected enemy rip them apart?
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

"_I'm tired of being treated the way I have been. I'm tired of the Headmistress looking at me and telling me that I'm a demon spawn!" A teenage girl, no older than sixteen, ranted as she began packing her few things in a burlap bag. One of the boys was sitting there with her, trying to talk her out of leaving._

"_Tori, come on. You know you're not a demon spawn like that old hag says. You know what will happen if she realizes you vanished, right?" The boy asked in response._

_Tori's crimson eyes, which stood out against her pale skin, turned to daggers as she glared at the boy, only momentarily halting in her packing. "Why should I stay? You know damn good and well I'm not welcome here." She stepped aside and brushed some of her ear length snow white hair out of her face before gesturing to herself. "Look at me! I'm not like ANY of the others. My eyes are not a normal color, my hair isn't a normal color either, and the only thing about me that matches some of the kids here are my ears!" She pointed to her elven style ears, which stuck out slightly from under her hair. "I'm never going to find a family that actually doesn't believe what the Headmistress says about me. So, I will ask you again. Why should I stay?" She folded her arms in front of her chest, catching the fabric of her olive colored tunic slightly. She had a dark brown pair of cloth pants on and a black pair of leather boots, as if she was going to spend a couple years traveling on the road._

_There was no comment from the other boy._

_Tori huffed and resumed her packing. Sixteen years were spent in that orphanage. Sixteen years' worth of glares, snickers, and having been told she was worth nothing more than a house servant. Sixteen years of staring out over the giant brick walls that surrounded the place, wondering what things would be like on the outside world. She may not have found a home, but she was leaving and never coming back. It was morning, before anyone else woke up. Tori finished her packing and looked at the boy._

"_I'm sorry. I have to leave. I'll have a better life on the outside."_

_She slung her sack over her shoulder and sneaked her way through the halls, finally coming to the front door. She gulped nervously as she quietly opened the door. She stepped out, quietly shutting it behind her. She turned to face the somewhat empty streets of Hyrule Castle Town._

_She was free._

* * *

_In a forest to the south of Castle Town was a young man, no more than eighteen years of age. He sat on the balcony overlooking the village, teeming with life. He wore something similar to what the inhabitants of the village wore. Mostly green._

_The young man straightened his green, belted tunic out just slightly, as it was starting to bunch up under the belt. On top of his head was a matching cap, with blonde hair sticking out from underneath it. His legs, which were covered in a pair of white leggings, dangled off of the edge of the balcony, kicking his feet, which donned a pair of brown leather boots. His elven style ears were highly noticeable, as they stuck out from under his hair. His deep blue eyes gazed out over the village, almost like he was expecting something._

"_Link!"_

_He blinked a couple times and looked down below him. A green haired child in a green dress was waving at him with a huge grin on her face. A fairy was following her. He smiled and stood up, dusting any dirt that may have gathered on his leggings. "I'll be right there!"_

_Link climbed down the ladder in front of the door to his tree home. He reached the ground and grinned, looking at the girl. He towered over her. "Hey Saria!"_

"_Link, I can't believe it. You went from a baby that was brought in by his dying mother to being eighteen years old!"_

_Link chuckled. It was different, living in a village full of children. They never grew up. That was just a trademark of the Kokiri. "Well, I've been thinking lately."_

"_About?"_

_Link sighed. "Some of the Kokiri don't seem to be happy with me staying here. I've been thinking about getting another home, outside of the forest. There's a whole world out there, Saria, and even though you guys can't leave the forest, I can. And I have. I'm not a kid anymore. I don't fit in here."_

"_Link, you're just as much family to us as Mido or the Deku Tree." Saria replied, her smile fading._

"_Yeah, I know. There's this little village just outside the forest here that seems appealing. I just don't know where I'd stay."_

_Saria sighed. "Link, I'm sure you'll find somewhere. You've been out enough, someone would be bound to help. You know you are more than welcome to come back."_

_Link smiled. "I know. And I plan on it." He bent down and hugged Saria. "I won't forget any of you."_


	2. Routines

**Author's note: I am aware I have the chapters divided into two parts. You will see why later.**

Hyrule Field. Where the rabbits and the occasional squirrel frolicked and where the birds perched on the occasional tree, singing their morning songs.

Tori sighed as she inhaled the morning air. She had been living on her own in Hyrule Field since she left the orphanage at sixteen, two years ago. Sitting cross legged in the grass, she had her back to the entrance of Hyrule Castle Town. It was her favorite spot. The view was always nice, and she could go in for supplies if she needed to.

Tori took a bite of an apple. There was an apple tree at the outskirts of a little village near the forest. Tori didn't know if it was planted there or if it was a wild tree. Either way, the apples were a great food source, so she helped herself whenever she could.

Tori rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. So much had happened in two years. She brought her hands away from her eyes, showing the only obvious change.

Her left eye was still it's natural crimson. Her right eye, however, was now so light of a blue, it was almost white. It also had a vertical scar running over it, starting right above her eyebrow and ending right below her eye.

Tori gently touched the broadsword laying beside her. She had to acquire a weapon. Shortly after she left the orphanage, she was attacked by a group of Moblins, one of which managed to severely damage her eye.

Today, Tori was going to Castle Town. Not because she needed supplies, but because she needed answers. For two years, Tori had been doing some digging onto her family history. The genes that made her who she was. What she had learned was astonishing.

Tori was born in the orphanage. Her mother died shortly after Tori's birth, only living long enough to give the newborn baby a name. Victoria Bailey. No last name. However, the records she found, and now possessed, stated that her mother was Hylian while her father was a Sheikah, a race of people who were sworn to protect the Royal Family of Hyrule.

That was all she knew. Today, she was planning on asking people around town, again, if any of them knew her mother and who, exactly, she may have been romantically involved with.

Tori's few things were packed already. Her sleeping mat, which was just a long piece of burlap, was rolled up and tied with a piece of rope. She stuck it under the sheath for her sword, which lay across her back. It was a snug fit, but it held it without a problem. She had throwing knives along her belt.

"Well, it's either now or never." Tori muttered, standing up. She tossed what was left of her apple near a tree. The wildlife would enjoy the remainder of it. Getting more information was something she had to do. Slowly, she started making her way towards Castle Town.

* * *

"Hey Link! There you are!"

Link blinked a couple times, holding a brush over his horse, Epona's, mane. He paused mid stroke, turning his head to look over his shoulder.

An older man had somehow managed to walk up behind Link without Link realizing it. Brown and blond hair stuck out from the top of a white headband and he had brown facial hair. His clothing was similar to what the other males of the village wore. A white top with something over it, a layered belt, some sort of pants, and sandals. Rusl was always a friendly sight.

Link had been living in Ordon for a few years now. He had come upon this village with the bare minimum. He had no home, no family, and didn't know anyone. The villagers not only took him in, but they built him a house similar to what his house in the Kokiri Forest looked like. The villagers had been very helpful to him. Rusl even managed to get Link some work herding the goats at the ranch just on the backside of the village. However, Link was always given an opportunity to run errands for the other villagers, since he knew the route to Castle Town well enough.

"What did you need? Me to herd again?" Link asked, sticking the brush in one of Epona's saddle bags.

"Oh no, my boy." Rusl chuckled, shaking his head. He stopped chuckling and his face took a serious tone to it. "It's not that at all. I need to talk to you for a minute."

This peaked Link's curiosity. He went to the front of Epona, where Rusl could see him, showing an outfit similar to that of the one Rusl was wearing. He didn't even have his cap on. "What is it?"

"Do you feel like going to Castle Town for me?"

This wasn't an unfamiliar request. "For, any specific reason?" Link asked.

Rusl nodded. "My wife ordered a cradle for the baby about a month ago and she needs someone to go check on its progress. She is due any day now and neither of us can go anywhere."

Link nodded. He was familiar with Uli, Rusl's wife. "I'll be more than happy to help out." He replied.

A grin spread across Rusl's face. "Great! I'll let you be so you can prepare to leave. I'll let Uli know you'll go check on it. Don't be afraid to take your time and enjoy the sights while you're there. You don't get to stop and smell the roses very often."

Link nodded. As Rusl started walking towards the village, Link climbed up the ladder to his home and went inside. He shut the door behind him and walked over to a table, where his green tunic, sword, and shield were sitting.

Link rarely ever left Ordon without his tunic on.

He touched the familiar green cloth, letting a smile form across his face. Slowly, he began changing out of his ranch clothing.


	3. Encounters

**Chapter 2**

Castle Town was the same as usual; rushed, busy, and teeming with life. Tori felt like an ant compared to the people here.

Yet, she knew she needed some answers.

Tori took a deep breath and started rushing around town. She kept asking people the same thing. "Excuse me, but do you know of any Hylian/Sheikah couples that could have been here in the last nineteen years or so?"

Most of the people said no. One woman said that Tori was the only Sheikah she had seen in nineteen years. Tori often found herself mumbling her thanks and walking away, feeling defeated until she gathered the courage to ask someone else.

Something seemed... different... about today though. Normally, after about an hour of asking, Tori would give up and go park herself on the bridge outside of town, where she would reflect on her failures for the trip and figure out where she went wrong. However, something kept tugging at her as if she was being told to not give up just yet. She kept going, eventually finding herself in front of the entrance to the castle. Tori stopped in her tracks for a minute to stare up at the castle looming before her. Too often would she sit outside at the orphanage and stare at the castle, wishing that she was a long lost princess so she would be whisked off to a castle somewhere beyond the horizon. She shook her head sadly. She knew she wasn't a princess of some sort, so why bother holding onto that childhood dream?

Tori backed up slightly to turn around and bumped into someone. She froze as a man shouted, "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Tori muttered, turning to face the man. He was intimidating. He wasn't fair toned like the rest of the people here. Rather, he was dark brown, almost black. His dark eyes were glaring at her, and his bright orange hair gave Tori a headache. "I was just..."

"I know what you were doing." The man growled.

Tori gulped and took a step back as the man took a step towards her. It was a loud step, as he was clad in black and red armor. She tripped and fell backwards over a loose cobblestone, landing on her back end. Yet, the man kept coming towards her. Tori's eyes grew wide with fear as she tried to scoot her way away from the man. He grabbed her by the collar of her tunic and lifted her up off the ground, staring at her face. Tori grabbed a hold of the man's wrist with both hands and began struggling, kicking her feet in the process.

"You might as well give up your dream of going to the castle. Ever." The man yanked Tori closer to him. "The only way you will ever get in is if you're associated with the joke of a princess or as one of my followers." He whispered in Tori's ear, "I can give you that option, should you so desire to reside in the castle."

Tori's eyes narrowed into thin slits as she let go of the man's wrist with one hand. "Here's what I think of that." She muttered, reaching for one of her throwing knives.

In the blink of an eye, crimson colored blood started gushing from a slash mark on the man's face. He let out a roar and threw Tori into a bunch of crates, breaking each and every single one of them in the process. As Tori lay in the rubble, the man quickly covered the slash mark with his hand and looked right at her, muttering only a few words.

"When things go the way I plan, you will regret not joining me."

Tori, dazed from the encounter, watched as the man rushed towards the castle, holding onto his face. She watched him for a moment, her mind too jumbled over what had just happened to get up and do anything.

There was a sound of a sword being sheathed and someone running towards her. Tori's vision went blurry momentarily as she looked towards the direction the sound came from. There was a green blur in front of her. A gentle, yet masculine voice finally made its way through Tori's jumbled thoughts. She blinked a couple times, her vision returning to normal.

The green blur turned into a young man. Blonde hair, blue eyes, the same kind of ears as she. His clothing was green, with the exception of his leggings and boots. Green tunic with a belt across the waist and over the shoulder, and a green cap was sitting comfortably on his head. "What?" Tori asked, blinking again.

"I said, 'are you alright?' I saw what that man did to you and I wanted to make sure you were okay." The man replied, holding out a gloved hand to her. "I'm Link, by the way."

Tori looked at the hand. She didn't see how anyone could wear gloves like that. The fingers were missing off of the gloves, showing the man's own fingers. She blinked again, her thoughts somehow straightening themselves out. She took Link's hand and pulled herself to her feet. "I'm Tori." She replied, brushing off some of the pieces of wood from her clothing. "I...I think I'm okay. He just about gave me a heart attack or something." She turned her attention back to Link and asked, "Your clothing says you're not from here."

Link chuckled. "I'm just here from Ordon running errands. I had to make a stop at the basket maker for one of the villagers and decided to swing by and gaze at the castle." His chuckle turned into a frown. "I caught the last bit of what that man said to you. I don't know who he is but I already don't like his intentions." Link found himself looking at the scar over Tori's eye. "Have you ever seen him before? That's a pretty nasty looking scar you got there."

Tori's eyes grew wide at the mention of her scar. At Link's worried expression, she shook her head. "No, this is a couple years old. I have never seen a man look, and act, so bizarrely before." She glanced towards the castle and asked, "Should we go in after him?"

Link shrugged. "I don't know." He also glanced towards the castle, his eyes narrowing into slits. "What would he be in the castle for?" He looked at Tori. "What was he saying to you?"

Tori looked at Link. "He... he told me to give up on ever getting into the castle. Said the only way for me to ever step foot inside was if I was associated with 'the joke of a princess' or serve him."

"Is that why you slashed his face?" Link asked.

Tori nodded. "What part of his face did I get? I didn't see it."

"The left. He was pretty bloodied up from what I saw."

Tori blinked a couple times, taking it all in. "Am I the bad guy for doing that?" She asked quietly. She couldn't believe she had harmed someone like that.

"Nah." Link glanced back at the castle. "Although, I am curious about who that is and what he is doing here." He turned to go back to town and asked, "You coming? Someone in town outta know."

Tori nodded. "Might as well." She replied, following Link back to the main part of Castle Town. She didn't know why she was following this young man, but she knew one thing.

He was pretty interesting and probably worth sticking close to.


	4. Beginning

**Chapter 3**

The morning started out like any other for the princess. She got up, let one of her maids run a brush through her golden colored hair, and put on a dress and heels that another maid would pick out for her. She'd go to the dining hall for breakfast then to the main hall for her daily meetings with the castle advisers. After spending four hours discussing things of importance to the people of Hyrule, she would excuse herself to the courtyard to practice her archery.

At this time, Princess Zelda would unwind and relax. It was here she felt most at ease, and it gave her something to look forward to during the day. The twenty year old princess had a lot on her shoulders as it was, being the lone ruler of Hyrule. She didn't mind the responsibility on some days. Like any job, it had its good days and its bad days.

Today felt like it was going to be another one of those bad days.

Zelda sighed as she made her way back inside the castle. She had a meeting today with someone. She passed a mirror along the way, stopping to stare at the reflection staring back at her.

Her face, lighter than most people's, stared solemnly back at her with a pair of piercing blue eyes. Her hair was braided around the sides, held back behind her head by a rubber band. Her ears stuck out the sides, each donning a pure gold earring to match the gold colored decals on her pink dress and the tiara on the top of her head. It was a look Zelda was all too familiar with. She was expected to look, and act, like royalty since she was old enough to speak coherent sentences.

Someone let out a scream from the main hall. Zelda's eyes grew wide as she reached behind her back and gripped air. She scowled slightly. She was in such a rush to catch up to her schedule that she had left her bow and quiver outside by mistake. Zelda instinctively ran to the main hall, grabbing a sword from one of the displays and taking it with her. She didn't know how to use it very well, and it was only made for decoration, but it was something to defend herself if she needed it. The head of the Knights made sure Zelda, at least, knew how to protect herself in the event such a circumstance arose.

Zelda came to a stop as she entered the hall, only a mere feet short of her throne, gripping the hilt of the sword until her knuckles turned white.

Standing before her was a dark skinned man, with bright orange hair and black and red armor. His face had a gash on the left side right along his cheek. The bodies of three or four guards were laying all over the place. The remaining guards were frozen to their places. The man grinned demonically and sheathed his sword, stepping towards the princess.

Zelda's eyes darted around momentarily, looking for the head knight. Her eyes discovered the knight's body laying directly in front of the main doorway, almost as if he knew the danger that was coming and wanted to stop it before it even breached the walls. Zelda turned her attention to the man, gripping the sword even tighter. It hurt her hands gripping the sword so tightly, yet her life possibly depended on it.

"Ah, Princess. I have been meaning to talk with you." The man chuckled. "Here's what's going to happen. You are going to give up the throne to me. You're unfit to rule at your age."

"And what if I refuse?" Zelda hissed in reply.

"You, and all those loyal to you, will die." The man chuckled. "You certainly are in a predicament, are you?" His arms were folded triumphantly over his chest as he smirked at the young princess. "This would include the very people you are supposed to be ruling, as I'm sure many of them would lay their lives down to keep you safe."

Zelda's eyes darted around, looking at the faces of those in the room with her. These faces had families to go home to. Zelda sighed. It would be pretty selfish if she let anyone lose their lives just because she didn't want to give up her family throne. She relaxed and, without hesitation, handed the sword to the guard hear her. The guard stared at Zelda, his eyes wide with fear, as he took the sword from her and lay it on the ground next to him. "Princess, what are you doing?"

"It's either I let him take over, or the whole land of Hyrule would perish at this man's hands." Zelda replied, turning her attention back to the dark clad man. "I cannot allow such a thing to fall upon innocent people."

The man chuckled. "Excellent choice." He snapped his fingers at a couple guards. "You've seen her decision. Take her to her room. Keep guards posted outside her doors at all times." He turned back to the princess and smirked triumphantly. "Make me angry, and I will put you in the dungeons. I won't kill you, Princess." His eyes narrowed into a dark glare at Zelda. "That would foil my plans for this country."

One of the guards gently put his hand on Zelda's shoulder. Zelda's gaze turned into one of hatred at the man in front of her. The guard spoke up. "I'm sorry, Princess."

Zelda seemed to growl slightly at the stranger who invaded her home. "You'll regret this."

* * *

Tori sighed as she sat on the cobblestone street next to the fountain. She felt defeated all over again. She and Link spent a good bit of time asking people about the man that assaulted Tori, then made his way into the castle. No one knew, or saw, anything. It was disheartening.

"So...what do we do now?" Tori found herself asking as Link sat next to her. "We've exhausted all of our resources here. I don't know how anyone wouldn't know anything."

Link shrugged, sighing heavily. "I don't know either. I suppose we could..."

"Attention! People of Castle Town!" A guard ran out from the road leading to the castle, gasping for air. For the first time since Tori was there, Castle Town was dead silent. "A man from the desert has imprisoned Princess Zelda and has taken over her rule! Everyone please return to your homes until someone has informed me it is safe to do otherwise!"

The people panicked. Link jerked to a stand, his hand instinctively grabbing his sword. Tori also stood, her eyes wide with fear. She had never experienced a situation such as this before and it scared her. However, she knew they had to do SOMETHING.

"Link, we should see what we can do to put an end to this." Tori suggested, slightly tugging on his tunic. "Do you know of ANYONE who would be able to help?" She spoke close to a whisper, fearful someone other than Link would get wind of her idea.

The fierceness in Link's eyes seemed to fade. He looked right at Tori, a determined look on his face. "WHY didn't I think of this sooner?" He turned and started running for the exit.

"Where are you going!?" Tori shouted, running after him.

"Kakariko Village! The elder there can probably answer any questions we might have! Come on!"

**Author's Note: Wow! Two faves AND two reviews within hours of putting this story up! Thanks to both of you! I know the story progress seems a little...weird...but I promise it gets better!** **You will not be disappointed!**


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